"Don't think my future will be worth more if I equal Federer or do something like Djokovic" - When Nadal opened up about following his 'own journey'
Rafael Nadal has made no secret about his desire to follow his own journey instead of finding motivation from chasing others' records, be it arch-rivals Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic's. The Spaniard reiterated the same after his title win at the 2019 French Open, where he beat Dominic Thiem in four sets to win his 12th trophy.
Following his 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win, Nadal was asked about his desire to match Federer's then record of 20 Grand Slam titles. The victory in Paris that year had secured the Mallorcan his 18th Slam overall, bringing him two short of the Swiss' tally.
Nadal answered in the negative, saying that he wanted to give himself the best opportunity to compete, rather than play with someone else's achievements in mind.
The former World No. 1 echoed his belief that his future won't be worth any higher just because he did something like Federer or Djokovic, underlining the fact that he wanted his career to be beautiful on its own merit.
"I want to follow my own journey, give myself the best opportunities, and give myself the possibility of competing at the highest level. And if I end up in a position like that of today where I'm the one who won most Roland Garros in history, well, all very well," Nadal said.
"But I don't think my future will be worth any more if I equal Federer's record or if I do something like Djokovic or whatever. I consider that I'm going much further than I dreamt about in my career. I'm having a very long and successful career, obviously. I have been able to have great experiences. And if it weren't for tennis, I wouldn't have lived these experiences now," he added.
"My career, we'll see where I stand in general terms" - Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal further added that he prefered his career to be weighed by itself, noting that he never took the court thinking about what others had achieved before him.
While the left-hander admitted that the idea of Roger Federer's record Slam tally gave him motivation, he wanted to make it exceedingly clear that it was not an obsession for him and that it never would be.
"My career, we'll see where I stand in general terms. But as I said in English before you asked the question, this is the last thing that I was thinking about, honestly. I just value my playing and having this beautiful career more than anything," Nadal said.
"it's a motivation, but it's not my obsession. If you ask me whether I would like it, of course. If that's a goal in my career, no. It's not what makes me get up every morning or go and train and play. It's not the way in which I view the sport, and it's not the way in which I consider my sports career," he added.
Nadal would go on to beat Roger Federer's record and has 22 Majors. Only one man - Novak Djokovic (24) - has more Slams than him.